Chapter 642: Airship

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The station was urgently vacated after hearing the emergency call.

An airship was approaching from above.

As soon as the airship came into view, the station staff, who were already on high alert, quickly grabbed the communication devices and contacted somewhere, while one person blew a whistle and waved flags frantically with both hands.

Twwweeeeet-!

The airship, cautiously descending, exhaled gas as it safely landed on the ground.

“It looks way too intact, doesn’t it?”

“Doesn’t it?”

“But they said it was attacked?”

“Well, it sure doesn’t look damaged, does it?”

The controllers in charge of communication with the airship exchanged their opinions.

Just a few minutes ago, they received a report via the emergency network that the airship had been attacked by terrorists and suffered significant damage.

They said there was a hole in the lifeline of the airship, the gas bag, and they requested emergency landing.

Anyone working in aviation would be horrified by such a scenario.

They had quickly vacated the area to prepare a place for the airship to land.

But, what is this? It looked perfectly fine, not at all damaged.

“Wait a minute…”

Someone noticed something odd and spoke up.

The massive airship, filled with hundreds of people and cargo, shimmered like a mirage, radiating colors, and then, like makeup being wiped away, its appearance began to change.

Fwoosh.

As the colors faded away, the deflated and shrinking gas bag and the ruined engine room were revealed.

Only then did people realize what was going on and approached the airship.

***

“Please remain calm and exit one at a time.”

Thanks to the spell Ideation (Idea), which combined the World Tree and Spatial Magic, the passengers who narrowly escaped death disembarked in a calm and orderly fashion under the guidance of the crew.

While everyone seemed calm at first glance, a closer look revealed that they all appeared to have aged ten years, utterly exhausted.

After all, experiencing aerial abduction and an airship crash—two things one might never encounter in a lifetime—happened back-to-back.

The nun and Holy Knights had stepped in to calm the passengers, so that much was a relief.

As evidence, devout passengers expressed their gratitude to the nun who had helped the crew ensure everyone’s safe disembarkation.

“Thank you so much.”

“No need for thanks, brother.”

“Thank you, Sister.”

“You were really brave, little brother.”

“Sister…”

“Sister!”

People of all ages sincerely thanked the nun.

Though it was the magicians who had saved them, it was she who comforted their hearts.

Thanks to her, she was busy even after leaving the airship.

Of course, she wasn’t the only one busy.

Thirsty for a scoop as always, journalists had swarmed in like a pack of hyenas, asking the captain what had happened.

Some of them cautiously requested an interview with Chaplain Roderick.

With the leader of the sacred Pater Church himself. It was fitting for times of waning faith.

However, instead of showing displeasure, Roderick explained the situation briefly and promised to provide more details through the Pater Church’s spokesperson.

This cheered the reporters.

“Oh wow… Just like the rumors said, he’s certainly different from other chaplains.”

“They say all the Warlocks committed suicide, so we couldn’t trace their backers, but it seems to be from Central Continent.”

“That makes sense! The Warlocks there are no joke right now.”

“This is a scoop, let’s write it!”

“Hold on! We need to interview the people who saved the airship too.”

“Wasn’t it the Holy Knights who saved it?”

“Nope, it was magic that stopped the falling airship. The passengers testified to it.”

“They said they used some kind of unknown magic?”

“Where are the magicians?!”

The reporters hurriedly started looking around for another scoop.

But they couldn’t find the magicians.

They had already excused themselves and left.

***

In a corner just below the top floor of the airship station.

Oliver sat quietly, massaging the space between his eyes.

He looked tired, and in fact, he was.

But not because he used Ideation, which involves handling massive amounts of magic and information that most magicians couldn’t even attempt.

Honestly, for Oliver, that wasn’t so difficult.

But this was a bit exhausting.

Rosburn, who had followed secretly, wanting nothing more than to help Oliver.

“…”

Rosburn hung his head, not daring to utter a word, as if he were a criminal.

He had bravely said at first that he wanted to help.

That was an incredibly courageous act.

Given that Rosburn had spent most of his life as an orphan and a hired hand at an inn, it was even more impressive.

A life where obedience, rather than courage, was considered a virtue.

For such a boy to say he wanted to help Randa’s hero, known as the New Finger.

Crazy, out of touch, or just incredibly brave.

For Rosburn, it was the third.

But that courage crumbled in the face of Oliver’s silence and furrowed brows, reducing the boy back to an inn servant.

Oliver hadn’t intended it, but it was like a lion making a rabbit flee just by appearing.

And it wasn’t just Rosburn who was affected.

Kevin, Yareli, and Derek—they too couldn’t fully escape the effect of Oliver’s mood despite having saved the airship.

Oliver’s power and position gave him that kind of influence.

In the heavy silence, someone finally spoke.

It was Rosburn.

“I-I’m so sorry… Sir.”

A voice barely above a whisper, shoulders pulled tight.

From that image, Oliver was reminded of Martel.

‘P-Please, spare me…’

Not a particularly pleasant memory.

But it helped Oliver make a decision.

“Rosburn, you should head back for now.”

The tone was more a command than a suggestion.

As Oliver reached into his pocket to pull out a piece of Paper, Yareli stopped him.

An unexpected reaction.

Oliver looked at Yareli.

His expression seemed to ask, ‘What are you doing?’

It wasn’t like Oliver to give such a look, but Yareli didn’t back down.

“Can we talk for a moment?”

“About what?”

“…Please.”

The unknown pressure weighed on Yareli, but Yareli asked again, and eventually, Oliver complied.

Oliver and Yareli moved even further into a corner, excusing themselves.

“What’s the matter?”

“You seem different than usual.”

“Do I?”

“Are you worried about that boy, Rosburn?”

“…I’m sorry, but you don’t really understand-”

“-But I do. Xenon told me about what happened in Martel.”

Yareli’s words left Oliver momentarily speechless.

Indeed, Oliver had shared it once.

After thwarting Theodore’s plan in Lake Village and heading to Ark Orphanage, Oliver had talked about the Martel kidnapping, the human experimentation Rosburn endured, and asking Joanna for help, only to be rejected.

“I also know why Xenon worries so much. Because what Rosburn and the other children went through was… horrific.”

Yareli’s words carried deep meaning and emotion.

“For the Reincarnation Project, they tried to reshape the children’s bodies to be more suitable for magic.”

“Did I tell you that much?”

Oliver thought he had only explained the general outline of the event. But Yareli’s reply was unexpected.

“I investigated on my own… Don’t you remember?”

“…?”

“I promised the Tower of Magic’s problems would gradually improve. I said I’d make it so.”

“…Ah.”

Oliver let out a short exclamation.

That had happened.

Here, in Gallos.

Back then, the Flesh Cook had sown chaos in the City in order to summon a demon, and in the midst of that, Yareli had made that promise.

Oliver had momentarily forgotten, but.

Maybe it was something he had intentionally tried to forget because he hated thinking about the words of the Flesh Cook.

So he might have tried to forget it all.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. After that day, I’ve been investigating on my own. The Tower of Magic’s corrupt practices, like Martel’s human experiments.”

Yareli’s expression betrayed guilt and shame.

“Were you able to find that out by yourself?”

“I was lucky. Life School magicians with the necessary documents handed them over voluntarily.”

“…”

“My grandmother is helping protect the Life School magicians.”

“Ah…”

“What I’m trying to say is that I understand why Xenon is worried about Rosburn. But you can’t just chase him away if you truly care. You should try to understand him.”

Oliver remained silent.

“He just wants to help Xenon and earn his recognition. All kids that age have that desire.”

“Do they?”

“Did you never have such a feeling, Xenon?”

Yareli’s question brought Kent’s face to Oliver’s mind.

“…I think I somewhat understand.”

“So do I. When my father passed away, I wanted to be recognized by the only family I had left, my grandmother.”

Yareli’s father. He had entered the Tower of Magic through Kevin’s intervention but was later expelled.

Now thinking about it, this combination seemed a bit odd.

Kevin and Yareli, given their ties, were supposed to have an antagonistic relationship.

“Life is complicated like that… I didn’t want to disappoint my grandmother like my father did, so I studied late every day, trained in magic, behaved politely, all to earn her praise. It’s the same even now… Rosburn isn’t different.”

Sincerity.

“So I know, if you send him back to Randa like this, he’ll be hurt.”

This too, was sincere.

This caused Oliver to fall into deep thought.

“But it’s unsafe for him to go with us. The place we’re headed to is dangerous.”

Oliver left out one reason.

And one of those reasons involved Roderick. Oliver hoped Roderick wouldn’t take an interest in Rosburn. Although it seemed he had already taken notice.

“That’s why I’m suggesting you leave him somewhere safe, even if it’s a bit far away.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know anyone in Gallos whom I can trust.”

“What about Ark Orphanage?”

“What?”

“Ark Orphanage. I’ve only been there once, but I trust the headmaster there. I can take him there.”

Ark Orphanage.

Oliver thought back to his first visit to that place and remembered the headmaster.

The kids who proudly showed off their damaged pump and Joanna, the headmaster who spoke to Oliver about forgiveness in the middle of the night.

Though it was only that one time, as Yareli said, for some reason, it felt like they could be trusted with Rosburn.

“What’s the difference? He’ll be away from us anyway.”

“There’s a big difference between sending him away permanently and just placing him somewhere temporarily. If you’re really concerned, you should take my suggestion.”

Certainty, sincerity.

Seeing Yareli’s genuine emotions, Oliver found himself unable to argue.

Come to think of it, Oliver was the same.

Back when Kent was struggling to secure welfare funds for Randa, even though Kent hadn’t asked for help, Oliver had tried to assist him.

Comparing that memory of himself with how Rosburn must feel, Oliver couldn’t help but understand.

Oliver could empathize.

“…It’s a good idea. But are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“With what?”

Oliver asked, and Yareli answered back.

The roles had reversed.

“Telling me all that. Even about how Grandmaster Tilda is safeguarding the Life School magicians.”

After all, Oliver was Merlin’s disciple. And it was widely understood that covertly protecting mages from other schools was an unspoken taboo.

In other words, what Tilda was doing could be considered quite serious.

But Yareli had revealed it to convince Oliver.

Yareli smiled softly again.

“…I just felt I had to.”

***

As Yareli had suggested, they decided to temporarily leave Rosburn at Ark Orphanage.

Yareli and Derek took Rosburn and left immediately.

Fortunately, Rosburn agreed to it, though it was largely out of a feeling of guilt.

‘He didn’t say it was because I was a burden, but… I’ll have to tell him later… Will they grant my request there? I delivered a letter about Joanna, so they probably won’t refuse.’

Oliver thought to himself from the Hotel room.

Roderick had proposed taking a break for one night before they moved on.

It was a sort of reward for having rescued the crashed airship.

[…Around 3 PM today, an airship made an emergency landing at Yoojong Station. The reason for the emergency landing was terrorism by Warlock terrorists, and according to authorities…]

The news broadcast from the Radio in the room. With that sound in the background, Oliver asked Kevin a question.

“Professor.”

“What?”

“Did you also sense the Warlocks’ emotional state using the Warlock’s Eye?”

“Yeah.”

Kevin answered. It was Oliver who had opened that eye in the first place.

“Did anything seem off to you?”

“Of course there was.”

Kevin, true to his nature, got straight to the point.

“For the scale of what they did, there’s too much that doesn’t make sense. Their resolve, their will, most of all, there’s no clear objective. Considering the nature of a crime like airship hijacking, that’s just illogical… It was almost like their goal was to fail.”

Oliver activated the Warlock’s Eye, scanning the surroundings. Though nobody was there, he still isolated the room with magic projected through his feet.

“Like a hoax?”

Oliver recalled the note given by the nun. It read, [Be careful of Chaplain Roderick].

“Yeah.”

“Is that even possible?”

“It’s tough. A hoax is actually a pretty dumb tactic. Lies get exposed, and you can’t fully hide the truth. It’s not a concept of good and evil, it’s just the way the world works. Of course, even when the truth is revealed, believing it is another matter.”

“The point is that a hoax is a dumb tactic.”

Kevin nodded.

“But why would someone who isn’t dumb use a dumb tactic?”

“They’re either confident they can handle the risk, or they’ve got a safety net.”

“What’s the safest way to operate in the game set up by such a person?”

“You should know. As a Problem Solver… You shake the board.”

“Wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

“The world’s inherently dangerous. Among those dangers, sitting still is the most dangerous of all.”

Knock, knock.

As Oliver and Kevin exchanged words, someone knocked on the door.

Oliver opened the door, as if he’d been expecting it, and there stood a man wearing a mask—or rather, a Zombie Puppet—no, it was Child.

A creation of the Gallos branch of The Selectors tasked with supporting the work of Chaplain Armand.

To ensure the safety and smooth operation of the branch, they had left behind Child-Force (Fourth).

Force was holding a bag filled with documents in his right hand, just as Oliver had requested.

“You’re a jerk!”

As soon as Force saw Oliver, he shouted angrily.

Not only had Oliver entrusted him with the security of The Selectors’ Gallos branch, but he’d also made him search for the hidden safe of the Flesh Cook, among other things—his anger was understandable.

But Oliver also felt unfairly treated.

Each time a hidden safe of the Flesh Cook was found, Oliver provided small incentives, around thirty Landa (currency).

Given that he had a lot of expenses recently, he figured it was more than a fair reward.

“Damn it.”

Child-Fourth still cursed bitterly, clearly still upset about the task.

Oliver calmly explained that cursing was bad, yet Force rebuked him, laughing it off.

It was a genuinely egalitarian moment. Kevin interrupted.

“What’s in that bag?”

“Ah, it’s the item I asked Force to obtain. The day Lord Roderick proposed this job to us, I contacted him and requested it.”

“And what is it, exactly?”

“Information on Central Continent Warlocks.”

Oliver was willing to help Chaplain Roderick as a courtesy, but he wasn’t about to rely solely on the man’s information.

After all, not every chaplain could be trusted like Forest.

“You investigated that on your own from a foreign land?”

“I had help from a few people. Friends like the information broker known to Forest or Millieu, and even Murphy.”

Fourth nodded, confirming the truthfulness of Oliver’s words.

Indeed, it would be difficult for anyone to refuse a request from Oliver’s Creature, Force.

Oliver placed the bag on the table and began examining its contents.

Some information matched what Roderick had shown as a teaser, but there were discrepancies too.

For example, the demon worship conducted by some of the Warlocks.